THE J. J. PATTERSON CASE.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 303, 26 June 1909, Page 4

THE J. J. PATTERSON CASE.

(From the Herald). Mr Cresswell, in the course of his address, said that Mr Gurr had stated at the inquest that he could iiud no suspicious pircumstances in connection, with ihgTtre; The bankrupt . ■ liad a- IHHHkber oT\usinc&?es, an-i was compelled io trust to servants:"- - 3|r McCulloch had not said that the bankrupt had stolen any money, nor had it been said that the bankrupt had committed perjury. There- were no entries in the ledger for gome of" the items shown on the statement, but was it not likely that they were entered in the books which had been, destroyed by- the fire? There were -entries in the ledger for amounts of money received in connection with, the . Bunnythorpe property, but Mr' McCulloch had said that they, did not give him the particulars lie required. Some allowance must be made r->r a man vrho has gone in for .these large businesses. * . • '• °.. His Honor said the trial had ranged- over a. considerable period. That had been necessary in order to throw light on the case. It had been put forward by the defence .that this was a case of one man trying to keep a number .of businesses going. Ifr was the positive duty of a man in sucli circumstances to keep proper books. And it was the duty of a man who employed people to' keep his books to see that the books were kept in •such a way as to disclose his true position. No accountant, had been brought forward for the defence to ► show that Mr McCulloch 's methods of -examination were stilted or incomplete. .His Honor did , not consider it was an answer for a man to say that his servants had not done their duty. There might be something in the contention of counsel for the defence, that the bankrupt had hung on. to his books because lie thought there would be some settle-. • ment and they would become his. own again:, that was possible. The jury, after two and a half hours' consideration, returned a, ver-/ diet- of guilty. . - .•••'■ Mr Cresswell appealed to the court, under all the circumstances of this painful case, to extend mercy to the prisoner. For a man. in his position the punishment he had suffered dm*- " ing the last ten months, during which time his estate had .been in bankruptcy ,i rendering it impossible for him to attend to his private affairs, had been very great. He had been • 34 years in. New Zealand, without a previous spot or blemish on his . character. He liad brought up a. family, the eldest son being a ni&dical man. He had been a member of the Hawke's Bay Education Board for six years, Chairman of the Dannevirke High School Board Governors for a similar period;'' on© ' of the School Commissioners for three years, and Mayor of Dannevirke on. more than one occasion. .The- evidence,' counsel submitted, had shown jiothing more than carelessness, resulting iri'a. chaotic state of his accounts ; "he was not charged with making away with any part of the estate. The punishment he had already undergone was severe, considering that about £o;ur years ago he was a ma-ii worth- over £20,000, and that he now stood in the dock convicted of a, criminal offence. I Obuncel a ; ske<i . His Honor to admit the prisoner to probation, and referred to a similar case in Napier tvhere Mr thistice Cooper pursued that course. For the past ten months the prisoner had suffered' great agony "-of* mind', and. suspense, and had been * quite unable to manage the -chaotic • affairs of his estate. • - y His Honor, addressing the prisoner, said : lam very sorry 1 cannot accede to the suggestion of your counsel. The circumstances which governed Mr Justice Cooper in the «ase referred to by Mr Cresswell may liare been circumstances that are not present here. In. one case at Gisborne. that of .a. young man. I took a* similar course myself, because it- -"appeared that the real offender had been his partner, a /nuc'lv older man. ; I must take yoxtr case according to ifo own circumstances, . and it would- -lie- a very invidious thing if I. attempted |* to take such a course as ?jy Mr Cresswell, seeing how I hare already dealt with men for the same 'offence, men against whom there wereno charges of fraud, and who had; been carrying on small butchers' shops, and the like. In some 'of thesecases I passed sentences more severe* .tliaa I propose to pass on you. Thesestatutes ( aTe passed to be obeyed, it is the 'duty of the court to see that they are obeyed, and if the courtfailecl to -punish a man who- knew his ' duty and did not perform it, then practically the statute would be mdlified. In your case there is really no excuse 1 . You are a solicitor, and therefore supposed to know the bankruptcy law 7 and your duties under that Farw\ The jury had absolutely no alternative but to find you guilty. I take 1 into consideration your long and respectable career, as well as your advanced years. Everyone must feel sympathy • for you, but it is one thing: to feel sympathy >and another to overlook one's duty, and that I cannot do. The burden was . on you? to show the absence of fraud, and tire Jury have foiind that you have not done so. I tliink.it is neces- . sary to deal with you in the sanie- way as I Irave dealt with others offending; against the provision of the- law with % regard 1 to keeping books. It is idleto say that a prof essiOnal man like yourself does' not know any tiring about? keeping books, because such a man must know his duty as to keep-, ing liooks, even if he" does not know how to keep them. Here it was not .. only a case of error* ..but the book*. were kept iir suclu-a way sha! -v^-hen ait acconnbijlV examined- them he . found himself simply bewildered. it was absolutely impossible for you to know your own position, and thus there may have been no deliberate fraud, . but still you have offended against. tfie law -in not keeping proper accounts, and for that offence' only I will deal with you. lam very sorry to imprison a man of your character and reputation, but I find it my- duty v to do so. The sentence will be two months' imprisonment without hard labour. I shall ask the Minister to see. what he can do to mitigate your .punishment by seeing that you/ are not- mixed up with object ionaVe characters. . - i. ; : *

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